Sunday Morning Coming Down

Back in 2005 Winn Dixie filled for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.  In 2011 the company was bought by Bi-Lo another supermarket chain based in the southeast.  It is currently operated by Southeast Grocers.  In Miami it competes with Publix, Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Costco and several Latin grocery stores. Today, CNN reported that the projected cuts in the SNAP (food stamp) program will put additional pressure on smaller regional or independent grocery stores that operate on small margins and may be dependent on the SNAP Program for business. Stock clerks, cashiers and suppliers will be negatively affected by cuts to SNAP.  SNAP Participants who will have their benefits reduced because of the new rules will need more money to pay for food and it may become harder to get food if some grocery stores go out of business. I believe in able bodied people being required to work as a condition for receiving benefits but I also know that a simple work requirement isn't as si...

After an extended absence the Super Bowl will be held in Miami on February 2, 2020.  Stubhub has some tickets available for about $4700.  If we are lucky the weather will be pretty close to perfect in temperature. Showers are possible.  Hotel rates are through the roof and extended stays are the norm. The Hard Rock has made extensive improvements in seating, the concourses, high definition screens and a canopy to help protect fans from rain.  These improvements allowed Miami to be chosen to host Super Bowl LIV. I've been invited to Super Bowl parties that only require a covered dish and the beer will be cold. Miami has hosted the Super Bowl eleven times starting with Super Bowl II in 1968 and Super Bowl LIV or 54 on February 2, 2020. It should be a good game between the Chiefs and the 49er's. The Chiefs are 3 point favorites.  My gambling will be limited to picking a square for $5.00 at the Moose or the Legion. I don't care about the commercials, but M...

I heard a song from the musical "Rent" that has really stuck with me. Four professional singers from the Adrienne Arsht Center in sang "Seasons of Love" at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation Sanctuary on December 1, 2019. There are 525,600 minutes in a year and 1440 minutes in a day.  The song asks: how do you measure a year in the life? The Class of 1969 had its 50th Reunion.  I did not attend.  I hope those that did attend had a good time.  It was hurricane season and Dorian was close enough to keep me in Miami. I haven't been to see live horse racing for quite a while. I still follow the sport and watch as many races on the computer and follow RW Quarters at Canterbury in Minnesota, Prairie Meadows in Iowa and Keeneland in the Spring and Fall in Kentucky.  I also spend time handicapping races for contests at Monmouth Park in New Jersey and Remington Park in Oklahoma. I attend the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami. I eat lunch at Post 3...

Jerry Herman's music was cheerful and uplifting.  I saw Carol Channing in "Helo Dolly" in St. Petersburg, Fl.  You left the theater happy. I don't know how deep the grooves were dug on that record.  It was played a lot at home.  Mr. Herman donated $300,000 to the "U" and the Ring Theater became the Jerry Herman Ring Theater. Along with Hello Dolly, he did the music and lyrics for Mame, Mack and Mabel, and La Cage Aux Folles and other shows. 

Edward VIII was the King of England and Dominions of The British Empire from January 20th 1936 until he abdicated the throne on December 11, 1936.  Ostensibly "to marry the woman he loved".  He didn't seem to fit in the Royal Family.  A second meaning of the term relates to refusal or avoidance of a position.  Resignation is very similar to abdication.  Impeachment is a form of removal from which according to our Constitution for cause by the Senate.  This removal process needs a 2/3 majority which is very unlikely at best at this time. Obviously voting a person out of office is the preferred route to take, it always has been, and it will be.  Both houses of congress should consider impeachment carefully and their roles in government as well. The House and the Senate both have roles in overseeing how government is functioning and complying with laws that are passed and signed by the President of either party. Oversight should be bi-partisan and on go...

Or it might have been: "I read the news today oh boy.  The front page of the Miami Herald above the fold is the NYT story about impeachment, 2) a follow up story about a prison beating that left a Florida woman prisoner with a broken neck and spinal cord, 3) the Miami Herald story of an armed robbery in Coral Gables that became a car jacking and car chase, that ended with a shootout that left four dead. Below the fold 1) a continuing story about sea levels rising in Florida faster than earlier projections,2) a teaser for a story on page 10 about possibly moving 5,000 to 7,000 troops to the Middle East to deter Iranian aggression, and finally 3) a teaser about "free and low cost events " at Miami Art Week. The Footer is an six column ad for the new Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. $2.00 at your local newsstand.

 I'm sure I will be discouraged by the outcome of the current impeachment proceedings because the current political atmosphere has deteriorated so much that there is little chance of a vote related to conscience related to the facts related to the whole   From the vary outset of the Trump campaign for the presidency I have had my concerns.  It started with questioning President Obama's place of birth and citizenship.  If you can believe that narrative and act to promote it as the truth for your own benefit and purposes, you will do anything if it fits what is happening at the moment. Where do we go from here?  I wish I knew but during the last ten years there have been few compromises on climate change, health care, foreign affairs, housing, public finance, taxes, immigration and other issues.  We don't even agree that in a democracy the goal should be to encourage people to vote. In the background fund raising and special interests run rampant. ...